[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 195 (Tuesday, November 28, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H5913-H5914]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1630
PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES TO SHOW TRANSPARENCY VIA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 
                              ACT OF 2023

  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 4668) to amend the Small Business Act to require 
the Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman to 
publish guidance documents for certain rules, and for other purposes, 
as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4668

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Providing Opportunities to 
     Show Transparency via Information Technology Act of 2023'' or 
     the ``POST IT Act of 2023''.

     SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF GUIDANCE ON OMBUDSMAN WEBSITE.

       (a) Website Requirement.--Section 30 of the Small Business 
     Act (15 U.S.C. 657) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (e)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) to the extent practicable, hyperlinks for such 
     guidance that is designed to set forth policy on a statutory, 
     regulatory, or technical issue, or an interpretation of such 
     issue, for any rule for which an agency produces a small 
     entity compliance guide.''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(g) Protection of Confidential Information.--Subsection 
     (e) does not require the public availability of information 
     that is exempt from public disclosure under section 552(b) of 
     title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the `Freedom 
     of Information Act').''.
       (b) Applicability.--Paragraph (3) of section 30(e) of the 
     Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657), as added by this section, 
     shall apply with respect to guidance on, or interpretation 
     of, a rule for which an agency produces a small entity 
     compliance guide described under section 212(a)(1) of the 
     Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 
     U.S.C. 601 note) on or after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act.

     SEC. 3. COMPLIANCE WITH CUTGO.

       No additional amounts are authorized to be appropriated to 
     carry out this Act or the amendments made by this Act.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Williams) and the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in full support of H.R. 4668, also known as the POST IT Act, 
introduced by Representative Molinaro of the great State of New York.
  Small business owners face some of the biggest challenges in 
understanding how to comply with Federal regulations. Oftentimes, small 
businesses are hiring compliance officers, which are a drag on their 
bottom lines, rather than focusing on their core business model and 
looking for growth opportunities.
  This legislation would make it easier for small businesses to track 
the ever-changing agency guidelines on how to comply with any given 
regulation. The POST IT Act requires agencies to post their guidance, 
and all subsequent changes on how to comply, in a centralized location 
on the SBA's Office of the National Ombudsman's website.
  Businesses should not have to search through many different websites 
to try to find all the latest information on how to comply with any 
given requirement. If an agency updates a regulation or puts out more 
information, it should be easily accessible for any business to look 
up.
  I hope this bill is just the first step in much-needed regulation 
modernization efforts in the committee. We have seen far too many new 
requirements coming from government agencies that are hurting our 
Nation's job creators. As businesses continue to deal with high 
interest rates and elevated inflation, we should not be adding 
additional costs in the form of new regulations.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Molinaro for leading this bill, and 
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I lend my support to H.R. 4668, as amended, which 
requires the Office of the National Ombudsman to publish links to 
guidance documents for rules that have been certified to have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
  Guidance documents help inform small businesses of regulations, but 
they can be difficult to find. Having a centralized website with 
hyperlinks to these documents will save entrepreneurs time and 
resources.
  This legislation builds off the One Stop Shop Act, which was enacted 
into law last Congress. The new law requires the Office of the National 
Ombudsman to create and maintain a centralized website with hyperlinks 
to small business compliance guides.
  I am pleased the SBA has their website up and running. H.R. 4668 will 
add more useful links for small firms and give them tools to make it 
easier for them to comply with Federal rules and regulations.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend Mr. Molinaro and Ms. Scholten for working 
together on the POST IT Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Molinaro).
  Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his leadership 
and yielding for this important bill. I also extend my appreciation to 
the ranking member, my colleague from the great State of New York, for 
her ongoing support. I am proud to speak to this bill this afternoon.
  Small businesses know that, all too often, more than perhaps any 
other in this country, when it comes to Federal regulations and the 
Federal Government, the left hand not only doesn't know what the right 
hand is doing but the left hand doesn't know there is a right hand. 
Because of that, it creates a great deal of burden and confusion for 
small businesses.
  My bill, H.R. 4668, the POST IT Act, is an important step to make it 
easier for small business owners to comply with Federal regulations 
that might otherwise be difficult for them to locate in the first place 
and then to understand.
  I am grateful to Ms. Scholten for working together with me on this 
bill.

[[Page H5914]]

This bipartisan legislation simply requires Federal agencies to post 
follow-up guidance on the SBA's Office of the National Ombudsman's 
website for any regulation that will have a significant impact on small 
businesses.
  While there are official guidance documents that are released when 
rules are initially finalized, over time, agencies often release 
additional materials related to compliance. This leads to updated 
policy statements and technical clarifications that ultimately lead to 
a labyrinth of regulatory confusion and oversight by enforcement.
  The POST IT Act ensures these updates will be housed in a centralized 
location so small business owners can worry less about abiding by 
government regulations and focus more on running their businesses, 
employing our neighbors, and investing in our communities.
  There are over 33 million small businesses in the United States of 
America, which, as we all know and celebrate often, serve as the 
backbone of the American economy.
  The thousands of small businesses I represent in upstate New York are 
vitally important to our communities, supporting local services through 
their taxes paid, supporting employees and their families, and making 
an honest living for themselves.

  If Federal agencies are going to create new regulations for small 
businesses to comply with, we should seek to make it easier for them to 
understand and follow those rules, to relieve them of that burden so 
they are not further burdened with confusing requirements. This 
commonsense bipartisan legislation will help small businesses avoid 
unnecessary headaches.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Ms. Scholten, for her leadership 
on this bill. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to 
the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Scholten), the ranking member of the 
Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure.
  Ms. SCHOLTEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4668, the 
Providing Opportunities to Show Transparency via Information Technology 
Act, also known simply as the POST IT Act.
  It has been an honor to co-lead this bill with Congressman Molinaro 
to increase transparency in the small business space. Most Americans 
want more transparency from our government. This is an easy, 
straightforward, and bipartisan bill.
  It is critical that Federal agencies produce smart, well-crafted 
regulations. I hear all the time from small business owners across 
different sectors in west Michigan that they want to comply and follow 
rules and regulations, but they need clear guidance. Far too often, it 
is hard to find.
  Federal regulations can be a nightmare to navigate for small 
businesses who often serve as founder, CEO, president, store clerk, 
janitor, CPA, and attorney all in the same day. Most small businesses 
don't have attorneys, accountants, or compliance departments to learn 
and track all Federal regulations to make sure that they remain in 
compliance. That is why it is imperative on the agencies themselves 
that are setting the regulations to make sure that these regulations 
are open, available, and as easy as possible to follow and understand.
  I am proud to cosponsor this bill with Congressman Molinaro. This 
bill will help small businesses stay in compliance with Federal 
regulations by making compliance information from the Federal agencies 
easier to locate.
  Specifically, this bill requires that Federal agencies post guidance 
on the Small Business Administration's Office of the National 
Ombudsman's website for any rule that has a significant impact on a 
small business. It seems pretty easy, doesn't it?
  Now more than ever, as our Nation's small businesses are recovering 
from a global pandemic and are dealing with widespread worker shortages 
and rising inflation, it is our duty as lawmakers to take unnecessary 
hurdles for small business owners out of the way, whether that is 
increasing access to capital, ensuring access to technical assistance 
for SBA programs, or making sure that Federal regulations are easy to 
understand.
  I am working hard in the Small Business Committee to keep Main Street 
alive and thriving. It is great to partner with Congressman Molinaro in 
that effort.
  Before I close, let me say a few words about another bill on 
suspension today, H.R. 4670, the Small Business Contracting 
Transparency Act, by Representative Houlahan, of which I am an original 
cosponsor and have been proud to help usher through the Small Business 
Committee, where I serve as the ranking member on the Subcommittee on 
Contracting and Infrastructure.
  This bill would ensure that the SBA is acquiring up-to-date data on 
where Federal procurement dollars are going. In addition, this data 
will inform my committee's work to ensure that all small businesses are 
able to compete in the Federal procurement space.
  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for 
closing.
  I understand that complying with Federal, State, and local 
regulations can be onerous for small business owners. Small businesses 
do not always have the resources that larger companies do to monitor 
regulatory actions. That is why having a centralized website for them 
to access Federal guidance and learn more about their responsibilities 
under a rule is vitally important.
  We shouldn't be fooled by antiregulation rhetoric. Federal 
regulations can and do benefit small businesses and boost our economy.
  Our jobs reports over the past 2 years attest to that. The Biden 
administration is building an economy that is delivering for Americans, 
adding more than 14 million new jobs since taking office. The U.S. 
economy is experiencing a record small business boom, with more 
Americans launching a business than ever before.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Molinaro and Ms. Scholten for their 
bipartisan work in crafting a bill that we can all support.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time.
  H.R. 4668 is a step in the right direction to lessening the 
regulatory burden placed on our Nation's small businesses.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Molinaro for his work on this 
crucial piece of legislation, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle to join us in creating a regulatory environment that allows 
Main Street America to thrive.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Williams) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4668, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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